


In Silence

by Rae_nger



Category: Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018)
Genre: Angst, Family, Hurt/Comfort, after the events of goyo, platonic, ruscoven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 07:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16280288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rae_nger/pseuds/Rae_nger
Summary: Two silent boys.Two lost men.Those who survive will eventually find each other.Rusca, Joven and Kiko finds another survivor amidst this ridiculous war.





	In Silence

**Author's Note:**

> henlo guys, finally may ambag na fic asjdlfh based on [@jovenlovebot's prompt](https://twitter.com/jovenlovebot/status/1050404426630885376) so yeah, enjoy your stay :)

"Kiko, lika. May pupuntahan tayo."

All Rusca got as a reply was dead silence, though he didn't need to wait longer before the boy got up to his feet and came closer to his side. All these months of hiding away and living with the Garcia household taught him of the little boy's shyness, or his preference of not talking whenever his father is not around.

Though now... he knew this kind of silence, it was different, more suffocating.

"Nagempake na ako ng damit mo, malayo-layo pupuntahan natin."

The boy raises his head to finally meet his eyes, all empty and hollow and not what a child's eyes should look like.

The boy remains silent still.

Rusca doesn't mention it, that elephant in the room, doesn't try to poke in the fresh wound. Instead, he squeezes the child's shoulder, giving him strength whenever he can. It's the least he can do. "Oh siya, kumain muna tayo ng pinakbet bago umalis."

* * *

"Bayambang? Eh sigurado ka ba talagang ligtas tayo diyan?"

"Oo Kapit—"

"Hindi na ako kapitan, Joven." He interjects strongly.

"Ah, eh..." the teen was at a lost, suddenly hyper aware of what was said. As for Rusca, he didn't mean to sound so forceful, _no_ , it was just too painful to hear—to remember—what he _was_ , what he _lost_. The bubbling bitterness was still present in his chest as he drove the _karitela_ , eyes forward with the reins almost digging into his palms from the tightness of his grip.

"Pasensya na kuya Rusca."

 _Puta_ , now Joven was the one apologizing instead of him, _tangina._

"Hindi… pasensya Joven," he tried to look back over his shoulder, and with one hand on the reins, he gently clasped Joven's shoulder, careful of the teen's wounds. "Kuya Ed na lang tawag mo sakin, nakakatanda eh."

A smile, finally, and a flash of teeth. "Sige ho."

* * *

Rusca watches Joven hug the living daylights of his tiyo Miguel while eating— _putangina sa wakas_ —his favorite _ensaymada_. Kiko was with him, enjoying the sugary treat: he could see the curiosity and delight on the child's face even though he hasn't uttered a single word until now. But he knew better, everyone is different when it comes to _ensaymada_.

"...mayroon akong sasabihin sa'yo Joven," Rusca picks up snippets of their conversation and refocuses on the two men across him, the shift of the tone of Miguel catching his attention. This does not bode well. A sign of bad news perhaps? His little smile from eating his favorite _merienda_ dropping quick and tried to listen in without being obvious.

"Ano yun, tiyo?" Joven picked up the shift too, senses flaring and instincts telling him to be ready to flee in a moment's notice.

Miguel didn't seem to realize their sentiments. "Sa totoo lang, na sa kabilang kwarto lang yung bisita mo dati. Yung bunsong Bernal, nakita ko siya paligoy-ligoy noong nakaraang buwan."

"Ho?"  
"Ha?"

Two voices simultaneously spoke, confusion, surprise, and disbelief mixed in both. Kiko raised his head in a startled manner, unaware of what was happening.

Rusca was on his feet before he even realized it. "Sinong bunso? Bernal ba kamo?"

Miguel hushed him, but Rusca was too bewildered to care or to understand his actions. "Wag ka maingay, hindi pa siya gaanong maayos."

"Anong ibig sabihin niyo, tiyo? May nangyari ba kay Anghel?"

Anghel? _Anghelito?_ Why does the name sound so familiar even though it was the first time Rusca heard of it? _No_ , wait, it wasn't the first time — this wasn't the first time. Of course… he couldn't forget. Not when he repeatedly heard of the name leaving Manuel's lips when he was sometimes too tired and asleep, not when Jose would occasionally write letters with the name on it, not when both brothers utter the name in a prayer before they go to war... this was their younger brother, their guiding light, their angel, _their Anghelito._

"Kapi— _Kuya Ed_ , sandali!"  
"Teka, hindi pa siya—"

 _Na sa kabilang kwarto lang siya_ , all this time… _all this time_ and the proximity to a Bernal was this close. Heart hammering in his chest, he went directly to the single room meant for guests and bursts in without even planning a single thing to do once he did.

He was speechless.

He'd never thought he would see Manuel's eyes again, he'd never thought he would see Jose's smile again, everything a Bernal should be, this boy had. _Anghel nga_ , he thought as he stares at the boy dressed in white, smiling softly out the open window, the sun rays gracing his figure like a celestial being has descended from the very heavens and perched quietly, gently on that very chair.

Sentiments rapidly entered his mind...his heart. Something squeezed his chest, twisting it mercilessly inside his guts until he couldn't breathe. He looked so much like his brothers, the resemblance was there, it hurts to remember—

Miguel and Joven followed Rusca inside the room just seconds later, breaking Rusca's train of thoughts. It was Joven's turn to freeze. "Anghel?"

Rusca noticed that the smile was gone, to be replaced by a confused frown, but the boy didn't appear to hear nor notice them because he didn't visibly react to Joven's call.

As soon as he uttered the name, relief washed over the teen in tremendous waves. "Salamat at buhay ka. Nag-aalala ako sa'yo at akala ko... Buti ligtas ka."

Miguel tried to catch Joven's arm but missed when the teen stepped forward to embrace the young Bernal. All Joven thought was that there was another survivor, and that was what mattered.

He releases the boy and held him in arm's length, curious as to why there was a lack of reaction on Anghel's part, only to see that the boy wasn't _'seeing'._

Anghel stares blankly at Joven, no spark of recognition in his eyes, nothing.

The boy remains silent still.

"Anghel?" Joven tries to elicit a reaction, a word, anything... but it was like he was in front of a lifeless doll, not feeling anything, not hearing anything... just seeing, but not actually comprehending.

This was not the Anghel Bernal he had farewells with.  
This was not the young Bernal who nodded at him when he was dragged off before him.  
This was not Anghel.

"Anong nangyari sa'yo?" Joven didn't know when the tears started coming, but the lump in his throat was preventing him to speak.

"Joven..." Miguel pries him off from the boy and Joven let himself be dragged off in silent shock. Miguel also tapped Rusca's shoulder as a sign to leave, and with reluctance, he followed.

He finally saw the third and the last of the Bernal brothers, but Rusca never thought it would break his heart anew. To survive and to be left behind, he knew how it felt...

How it felt to be lost.

* * *

The door creaks at late afternoon, a small figure holding a toy gun entering the room. He quietly observed the lone figure sitting wordlessly on his chair beside the window, arms wrapped around his legs, with eyes as blank as it was hollow.

Kiko tentatively tiptoed towards him, not knowing what to do at first. Anghel didn't seem to mind him, or he hasn't heard of his movements yet, but he didn't turn his head even when Kiko came into view. Kiko didn't care, as long as he was with another non-adult in this house, he didn't mind... he was too exhausted from his journey and too tired with all the tiptoeing the adults were doing around him, like he was a walking bomb ready to explode.

They didn't understand, he knew his father was a soldier, he knew what it meant for a man needed at war. He knew... he understood. His _tatay_ would always tell him of this, that everyone would be gone someday and that he would likely be gone earlier than Kiko would — and when that day comes, he just have to live his life for his sake, since he would be in spirit together with him as long as Kiko would remember him.

And for the first time, Kiko spoke.

" _Hindi kita pababayaan_ ," he said out loud for himself to hear but didn't mean it for the other one in the room to hear it too. Kiko saw the change: Anghel blinked and tears welled up seconds after, but it didn't fall... even when crying, he was a Bernal through and through.

Kiko understood then that this boy, Anghel—as the others whispered his name outside his door—was a survivor too, a survivor of death and loss, of this ridiculous war... and amidst the pain and suffering of it all, he felt a connection. A friend.

Even when he didn't talk, the silent companionship was enough for him to stay. They were boys who lost someone dear in their lives, boys who were too young to experience, what it meant to survive by yourself.

For the rest of that day, the two boys remained in silence.


End file.
